Gender roles in Russia are still skewed, recent poll show. 54% of Russians believe a man should feed the family, while only 1% think it should be a woman.
Feeding the family is a man’s job in Russia
The majority of Russians still believe that the husband should be the main breadwinner in a family, while most locals agree that spouses should share responsibilities in housekeeping and raising kids.
The dynamics of gender roles in Russia have a different history as compared to western countries. Forced gender equality during communist times of 1918-1991 caused a bounce back after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the new order, where people could freely choose how to live their lives. Thus, Russian women became more feminine and men turned more masculine following the fall down of the communistic state.
As such, western women were moving towards greater equality in 1990s and Russian ladies were willingly taking off non-traditional feminine responsibilities off their shoulders. It became the norm for a man to view himself as the family provider and the woman to strive to be the housekeeper.
Russian men want to provide for families
During the last decade there is a trend, especially among the younger generation, towards more equal distribution of spousal responsibilities. However, if the majority of respondents agree that home chores and the jobs of raising kids should be shared between spouses, the notion of the husband to be the provider is still very strong, especially in the age group of 25-44 years old.
Men are more adamant that they need to provide as compared to women. 64% of men think the husband should bring home the bacon, while only 45% of women support this view.
Among the age group 18-24 opinions are divided: 48% think the man should feed the family and the same share of people think both spouses should contribute equally.
- 84% of respondents believe both husbands and wives should equally care for the kids (15% think it should be females; 1% think it should be males).
- 74% of respondents state that husbands and wives should both equally participate in housekeeping (17% think it should be female; 7% think it should be males).
- Only 43% of respondents said spouses should be equally responsible for the family’s income. The majority (54%) think it should be a man; 1% think it should be a woman.
The research was conducted by WCIOM.ru in October 2017.
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I’m so glad that most women and men now realise that the household responsibilities should be shared. Most women work now as much as their partner but they also need to care for the kids and clean the apartment, etc. This is so unfair but apparently the public opinion is slowly changing.
it’s normal when women look after the house and men are working to buy food for the family. Women are still doing more house work in Russia. Men very seldom do anything at home except lying on a couch and playing online games.